ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES OPINION: CITY OF ELMHURST VIOLATED OPEN MEETINGS ACT AND IS DIRECTED TO IMMEDIATELY RELEASE VERBATIM RECORDING AND CLOSED SESSION MINUTES FOR TWO MEETINGS WHEREIN CITY COUNCIL
INAPPROPRIATELY DISCUSSED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

WHAT:          
A conversation about democracy movements with Citizen Advocacy Center’s community lawyer, Maryam Judar.  Ms. Judar recently participated in a U.S. Department of State Legislative Fellows Program focused on sharing professional expertise and promoting partnerships among non-governmental organizations in the U.S. and developing democracies.  Ms. Judar will share pictures and experiences visiting democracy and human rights focused non-profits in Egypt and Morocco and hold a discussion, including on:

·        What it was like to be in Egypt on the second anniversary of its “Arab Spring”
·        The region’s struggle to build democracy;  
·        The tensions between politics, religion, and culture;
·        Tangible lessons we can harness to make our democracy stronger.  

WHEN:      Tuesday, February 19, 2013 from 7:00-9:00 PM         

WHERE:   Citizen Advocacy Center, 182 N. York St., Elmhurst, IL 60126    

The Citizen Advocacy Center is a non-profit, non-partisan community based legal organization dedicated to building democracy for the 21st Century. For nearly 20 years, the Citizen Advocacy Center has focused on strengthening the citizenry’s capacities, knowledge, and institutions for self-governance. For more information about Citizen Advocacy Center programs and resources call 630-833-4080, visit www.citizenadvocacycenter.org or visit us on Facebook.

From the article: Three trustees — including Doyle — and about a half-dozen audience members described the process as a secret ballot because the way each trustee voted was not announced.

"Secret ballot, closed ballot, however you want to say it," Hill-Corley said. "No names."

The process violates the law, said Maryam Judar, an open government expert and community lawyer with the Citizen Advocacy Center in Elmhurst.

"That would be in contravention of the Open Meetings Act, which requires that votes be taken in public and not in secret," Judar said. "That includes being able to ascribe the votes to particular board members."

Read the complete article below.  The first file is a pdf of the front page/above the fold placement of the  article in print.  The second file is an online version posted the next day with a different title.